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A Good Breakfast Argument

Yesterday, I was minding my own business at the hospital when some med students decided to pick a fight with me. (There must be something about being a dietitian that makes people just want to contradict you and push buttons. But, hey…it could have also been the fact that they were dumb boys that wanted attention. Who knows?)

Here’s how it all went down:

Me – Minding my own business, charting on a patient on the ICU floor.

Resident – Sitting behind me with a Coke in his hand “So, what is the big deal with nutrition? I figure I don’t have to worry about it until I’m older, right?”

Me – Looking him up and down, assessing for disease risk. “Your teeth will probably fall out from drinking that stuff. Are you also a doctor that smokes?”

Resident – Smiling, “No, but I don’t think we should take out all the enjoyment in life. You gotta die sometime, right?”

Me – Not charmed, “You’re telling me that as a doctor, you’re still counting the NUMBER of years a person lives? You haven’t noticed how people with chronic illnesses are held back by their health condition? You don’t think you could develop the same chronic illnesses by engaging in the very behaviors proven to elicit these issues?”

Resident – Uncomfortable b/c I’m calling him out, “Yeah, I guess so. (pause) But, I don’t do it as much as they do. Plus, I can drink my calories because I never eat breakfast.”

Me – Thinking to myself – Oh, no he didn’t. He did NOT just insult breakfast. “You don’t eat breakfast?”

Resident – Shrugging his shoulders, “Yeah, I’m just not that hungry in the morning. I’m not overweight.”

Me – He’s right. He’s not overweight. But maintaining a healthy weight is not the only reason to eat breakfast in the morning…Making a gesture towards the junk food sitting on the counter in the ICU break room, “Yeah, but not eating breakfast leads to desperate food choices later in the day. Do you ever partake in that junk food? Maybe you wouldn’t have such low standards if you weren’t so hungry mid morning. Just sayin…”

Resident – Looking conflicted, “Yeah, I guess I do…” Quickly smiles (I won) and turns back around to work. Meanwhile, the other med students taunt him for being “shut down by a dietitian.”

In honor of breakfast – I decided I would post some old breakfast photos for your viewing pleasure. These are recipes that did not make it onto the blog as recipes because I forgot. But, they’re all good examples of healthy breakfast combinations. Notice how easy it is to incorporate vegetables in your morning meal…